This invention relates to ice augers primarily used in the sport of ice fishing. This invention also has relation to use of foot power as a power source not heretofore available in manually powered ice augers. By utilization of foot power, ice fishermen have the advantage of a low-cost, light-weight, work efficient manual auger, and the elimination of losing the auger down a freshly drilled hole should it slip out of cold hands.
Presently two major types of ice augers are available to bore holes in ice, the (1) motorized and the (2) manual auger.
(1) Several versions of the motorized auger exist. The most common being a gasoline engine mounted directly atop an auger when the auger is in a position to bore a hole in the ice, other adaptations using the gasoline engine have also been used. U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,364 uses a sled mounted gasoline engine while U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,751 uses a power take-off from a snowmobile. These methods are effective but require substantial initial investment, maintenance expenses, transportation of heavy and bulky equipment, as well as operational expenses. Consequently there has not been wide-spread acceptance of power driven ice augers by the average ice fisherman because of the related costs and limited use to which this specialized equipment can be put.
(2) Manually operated ice augers are the most common method used to bore holes in ice. Although several variations of design are available, essentially manually operated ice augers are based on the principle of a carpenter's brace and bit. The manual auger's popularity is based on its relative low cost, simplicity of operation, light weight and portability. Disadvantages of current manually operated ice augers include considerable physical energy input to operate and loss of the auger if dropped through a freshly bored hole because it slips out of cold hands.
In both instances, whether motorized or manually operated, the power source for rotating the auger shaft of existing augers is fixed at or near the end of the auger shaft distant from the cutting edge of the auger head.
The foot powered auger of the present invention circumvents the need to have the rotational power source of the auger shaft affixed at the terminal end of the auger shaft remote to the cutting edge of the auger as is the case in augers of the present art. Through the use of an assymetrically designed auger shaft which passes through and mates with an identically designed bore of a bevel gear it becomes possible to place the power source (ratchet assembly and bevel gears) in a stationary relationship and in close proximity to the surface of the ice and to effect a constantly changing transmission point of rotational power to the auger shaft so the foot can be used as a power source to operate the ratchet arm and thereby effect the boring process.
The assymetrical shaft passing through the matching bore of the horizontally positioned bevel gear causes the shaft to rotate during the power stroke of the ratchet arm. Since the auger shaft is not affixed permanently within the bore of the horizontal bevel gear, the auger shaft simultaneously rotates within and is free to descend through the bore of the gear as the auger blades cut deeper into the ice. This design feature of an assymetrical auger shaft and matching assymetrical bevel gear bore makes it possible to have the point where the rotational power is transmitted from the bevel gear's operation to the auger shaft change with each power stroke of the ratchet arm. Thus the point on the auger shaft where the driven gear imparts rotational force to the auger shaft varies during and following each power stroke and can at any given moment be anywhere on the auger shaft from just above the auger shaft's cutting edge to a point totally distant therefrom. The change in the point on the auger shaft where the rotational force is imparted by the bevel gear will be dependent upon the downward pressure applied by the operator on the outwardly extending handle mounted on top of the auger shaft and the depth of the cut by the auger blades during each power stroke.
Through the combination and interdependency of the above auger shaft assembly and the ratchet arm and bevel gear assembly with special assymetrical bore it is possible to design a manually operated ice auger that does not require the rotational force of the auger shaft to be affixed permanently at the end of the auger shaft remote from the cutting edge and secondly because the point where rotational force is imparted to the auger shaft changes with each stroke of the ratchet, the power assembly (ratchet and bevel gears) can be positioned just above and stationary in relationship to the surface of the ice to make it physiologically possible to utilize foot power to operate an ice auger. These combined means make it possible to utilize an alternative method to bore holes in ice that heretofore has not been available in the prior art.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description and drawings.